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Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia and is bordered by Guinea to the north.
- Sierra Leone Civil War
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Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African...
- Madam Yoko
Madam Yoko or Mammy Yoko (ca. 1849–1906) was a leader of the...
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Sierra Leone, country of western Africa. The country owes its name to the 15th-century Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, the first European to sight and map Freetown harbour. The original Portuguese name, Serra Lyoa (“Lion Mountains”), referred to the range of hills that surrounds the harbour. The capital, Freetown, commands one of the world’s largest natural harbours.
Although most of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, Sierra Leone is also a mining centre. Its land yields diamonds, gold, bauxite, and rutile (titanium dioxide). Internal conflict crippled the country from the late 1980s onward, culminating in a brutal civil war that took place from 1991 to 2002. Since the end of the war, the government of Sierra Leone has undergone the arduous task of rebuilding the country’s physical and social infrastructure while fostering reconciliation.
Sierra Leone is bordered on the north and east by Guinea, on the south by Liberia, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.
The country can be divided into four distinct physical regions: the coastal swamp, the Sierra Leone Peninsula, the interior plains, and the interior plateau and mountain region. The coastal swamp region extends along the Atlantic for about 200 miles (320 km). It is a flat, low-lying, and frequently flooded plain that is between 5 and 25 miles (8 and 40 km) wide and is composed mainly of sands and clays. Its numerous creeks and estuaries contain mangrove swamps. Sandbars, generally separated by silting lagoons, sometimes form the actual coast. The Sierra Leone Peninsula, which is the site of Freetown, is a region of thickly wooded mountains that run parallel to the sea for about 25 miles (40 km). The Peninsula Mountains rise from the coastal swamps and reach some 2,900 feet (880 metres) at Picket Hill.
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The country’s drainage pattern is dense. Numerous rivers rise in the well-watered Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea and flow in a general northeast-to-southwest direction across Sierra Leone. Their middle courses are interrupted by rapids that restrict navigability to only a short distance inland. River levels show considerable seasonal fluctuations.
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The drainage system has nine major rivers and a series of minor coastal creeks and tidal streams. From north to south the principal rivers are the Great Scarcies (also called the Kolenté), Little Scarcies, Rokel (also called the Seli; known in its lower course where it meets the Atlantic as the Sierra Leone River), Gbangbaia, Jong, Sewa, Waanje, Moa, and Mano. The Great Scarcies, Moa, and Meli (one of the Moa’s tributaries) form portions of the border with Guinea, while the Mano forms much of the country’s frontier with Liberia. The river basins range in size from 5,460 square miles (14,140 square km) for the Sewa to less than 385 square miles (1,000 square km) for the smaller basins.
In most areas the dominant soils are of the weathered and leached lateritic type. Red to yellow-brown in colour, they contain oxides of iron and aluminum and are acid. Kaolin (china) clays are important in some areas; when cultivated, they are light, readily workable, and free-draining, with productivity that depends largely on the nutrients provid...
The climate is tropical and is characterized by the alternation of rainy and dry seasons. Conditions are generally hot and humid. Mean monthly temperatures range from the upper 70s F (mid-20s C) to the low 80s F (upper 20s C) in low-lying coastal areas; inland they may range from the low to mid-70s F (low 20s C) to the low 80s F. In the northeast, where extremes of temperature are greater, mean daily minimums fall to the mid-50s F (low to mid-10s C) in January, and mean daily maximums rise to the low 90s F (low 30s C) in March. During the rainy season, from May to October, humid air masses from the Atlantic dominate. The sky is cloudy, the winds are southwesterly, sunshine is minimal, and rain falls almost daily, especially during July and August. Precipitation is greater on the coast than inland; the Peninsula Mountains receive more than 200 inches (5,000 mm) annually, while the northeast receives about 80 inches (2,000 mm) a year.
The dry season, from November to April, is characterized by the harmattan, a hot, dry wind that blows from the Sahara. The rainy season tends to have cooler daily maximum temperatures than the dry season by about 10 °F (6 °C). The relative humidity, however, may be as high as 90 percent for considerable periods, particularly during the wettest months, from July to September.
Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa. Its capital is Freetown. The official language is English. The country was first made as a place where freed slaves could live. From 1991 until 2000, there was a civil war in Sierra Leone between rebels and the government. The war is now over. Sierra Leone is known for its blood diamonds.
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia and is bordered by Guinea to the north. With a land area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate and with a variety of environments ranging from savannas to rainforests.
Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa with a North Atlantic Ocean coastline to the west. It lies on the African Plate. The country's main geographical features include wooded hill country, an upland plateau, and mountains in the east. The highest peak is Mount Bintumani, which is 1,948 meters (6,391 ft) above sea level.
Nov 27, 2023 · Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, has a special significance in the history of the transatlantic slave trade as the departure point for thousands of west African captives. The capital,...
